


Trying To Help

by mamalovesherbagels



Series: Chimney Whump Central [5]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: buck means so well, but his heroic impulses aren't always the wisest, i promise he does
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24406870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamalovesherbagels/pseuds/mamalovesherbagels
Summary: Buck's just trying to help out Hen, really he is. 100%, his intentions are pure and helpful and good. Chimney still ends up flying down the stairs, anyway.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Chimney Whump Central [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726990
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

He’s trying to help, really he is.

He sees the man roll his arm back, hand clenched into a fist and knows he needs to protect his friend from what’s coming. In a way, he feels bad for the man, knowing he’s having a really bad time on some meth that is probably laced with something that is not meth, and he’ll probably feel terrible when he comes to enough to realize the “monster” he was hallucinating was a very smart and helpful paramedic. Doesn’t mean he’s going to let him get away with punching monster Hen, though.

The problem is, Chimney has a similar instinct. Probably a wiser one.

Chimney is standing to the side of Hen and makes the simple decision to step in front of her to take the punch for her.

He’s standing behind Hen, Chimney, and meth-ed out Matthew and makes the more… complicated decision to jump and tackle Matthew from behind.

The combination of the two, or rather, the velocity of it, just happens to completely accidentally send Chimney falling down the stairs.

No one reacts for a moment, well, except for meth-ed out Matthew, but he’s just reacting to Athena and her backup managing to get him in handcuffs, something they had been hoping to avoid until it became entirely apparent that he would not go into the ambulance peacefully.

The rest of the first responders listen in shock, hoping all the thumps and cracks they hear are just the sound of his body hitting each individual stair, and not the sounds of any bones breaking.

There’s a sick thud when he hits the bottom of the staircase and then a long silence. 

“Chimney!” Hen yells, being the first to snap out of it and go racing down to him.

“I’m…” he gasps, biting his lip to keep from screaming out in pain, “m’alive, Hen, it’s okay.”

“It’s not- why would you? God, you and Buck are both idiots, but ESPECIALLY Buck. Okay, God. Where does it hurt, Chim?”

“Uh, everywhere?” he pants.

“Chim, Chim, Chimney, oh my god. I’m so sorry, I’m so--”

“Later, Buck, he knows you didn’t mean it,” Bobby says steadily, trying to be the one to stay calm, “right now we gotta make sure he’s gonna be okay.”

“And… other guy?”

“Being taken to the hospital as we speak, don’t worry about it, Chim.”

“S’okay, Buckaroo,” Chimney groans, “was an accident.”

“And accident because he decided to be--”

“Hen,” Bobby warns, cocking his head to the side to coax her to take in the guilty expression on their youngest team member’s face.

“Later,” she sighs, biting her lip.

She knows that a good chunk of her “anger” at Buck is the guilt SHE feels at Chimney stepping in to take a hit for her and that he quite obviously feels terrible. It’s just… Chim is her best friend. And Buck was trying to help but it always has to be so ill thought out with him, doesn’t it?  
“Chim, brother, did you hit your head at all?” Eddie asks, trying to redirect.

“Probably safe to assume I hit everywhere on my body,” he groans, squeezing Bobby’s hand and desperately trying to keep from crying in front of everyone.

“Dear, Jesus, is that child going to be alright?” A familiar voice gawks, coming over to kneel down beside Chimney’s head.

“Athena, you’re not that much older than I am,” he jokes weakly, before shifting the wrong way and yelping in a way that makes everyone wince.

“Where?” Hen demands, “where’s it hurting that bad?”

“H-hip. Left. Broken?”

“Give me a second.. No, not broken. Dislocated, though, which means I have to--”

“Shove it b-back into place,” he whimpers, unable to imagine how he could possibly feel any more pain right now but knowing he’s about to.

“I’m sorry, Chim, I’m sorry. It’s gonna hurt, but more pain in the short term to keep it from hurting so badly for longer.”

“We got you, Chimney,” Eddie nods solemnly, grabbing his other hand that Bobby is not already holding, “it’ll be over before you know it.”

“G-get it over with, please?” he sniffles, letting the tears flow freely as he’s now given up on holding onto his dignity throughout all of this.

“Three, two, one--”

“I know, I know, baby,” Athena hums sympathetically, rubbing her thumb over his unbruised cheek as he writhes and sobs, “I know. It’s okay, we’ve got you.”

“H-hurts,” is the first semi coherent statement that manages to come out of his mouth a minute later.

“I’m gonna give you something for the pain,” Hen nods, “you know the drill, won’t make it all go away but will make it feel more bearable.”

“Hurry, please?” Buck chokes out, tears of his own on his cheeks.

“Alright, Chim, you’ll feel a pinch--”

“Fucking n-nothing compared to you shoving my h-hip back into socket.”

“...Fair enough. There you go, there we go. Feel a bit better?”

“A l-little.”

“Good, good. Give me one quick moment to assess the rest of your injuries and then we’ll get you to the hospital where they’ll give you even more of the good stuff.”

“You’re doing so good, pal,” Bobby encourages him, gently wiping a tear off Chimney’s cheek.

“Buck,” he pants, “s’accident. D-don’t cry.”

“Yeah, tell that to, Maddie,” he jokes weakly, genuine fear very apparent in his voice.

“Sorry, Chim, I think that wrist of yours is broken. Some of your ribs might be, too, but the x-rays are going to confirm that.”

“Could b-be worse.”

“That’s the spirit,” Eddie smiles, arm around Buck’s shoulder, “that’s the spirit, Chim. For an invincible guy like you? This is nothing.”

“No rebar, no s-stabbing.”

“That’s right, brother. We shouldn’t have even gotten startled when you fell down those stairs.”

“Again, tell that to Maddie,” Buck repeats.

“Yeah, Buckaroo, your sister is going to want your head,” Athena chuckles, before turning to Hen, “speaking of heads, no major trauma to his, I’m hoping?”

“I would be absolutely stunned if he walked, well, limped away from all of this without a minor concussion, but I think that’s all it is. No signs of major brain injury. You got lucky there, Chim.”

“Luckiest man in the world,” he groans.

“Alright, we gotta get you on the backboard. That’s gonna hurt some more, sorry.”

“Don’t h-have to keep apologizing I know how all this w-works. Just… someone c-call Maddie?”

“I will,” Athena nods, “I’ll bite that bullet for you, Buckaroo. But when she gets to the hospital? I’m afraid I can’t protect you from her anymore.”

“Athena, you’re a cop,” he replies blankly.

“And it would be foolish of me to intercede into an assault without backup.”

“Won’t let her hurt you,” Chimney offers, but it’s not of much comfort.

“Uh, you can’t exactly move right now, Chim. I appreciate the sentiment but I don’t think it’s going to help me very much.”

“I-- ow, fuck,” he can’t help but shout when he’s lifted up onto the gurney.

“Yeah, you sure you want to protect me from her, anyways? I think I kinda deserve her wrath right now.”

“Accident,” Chimney pants, “but don’t r-ride with me in the ambulance because I need to c-curse you out to Hen.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Buck. Oh sweet, sweet, impulsive Buckaroo.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, my baby!” Maddie had practically wailed out in the call center when Athena had her on the phone to let her know Chimney had taken uh, quite the tumble.

Josh, concerned about her getting a ticket for reckless driving, had driven her to the hospital, but when they got there Chimney was in the process of various x-rays and other tests and she could not see her boyfriend yet.

Buck had made the wise decision for the time being.

“How bad are his injuries?” Maddie demands, eyes full of tears.

“His hip was dislocated; I popped it back into place,” Hen says with a wince, “one of his wrists is definitely broken, a few ribs might be cracked, he displayed mild concussion symptoms in the ambulance ride over, and I can only assume he’ll be covered in bruises for a while.”

“God damn it, Buck,” Maddie grumbles, unable to keep from bursting out into sobs thinking of how much pain her poor Howie had to be in.

“They both tried to play hero,” Hen sighs sympathetically, “but your boyfriend definitely made a smarter choice than your brother.”

“He could never just sit and watch you get hurt.”

“And that’s the same for your brother, unfortunately his impulse there was just stupid.”

“My baby, my baby, my baby,” Maddie cries, letting Josh hold her close and kiss the top of her head.

“If it’s any consolation, I’m sure they have him absolutely loaded up on morphine right now. Probably can’t feel a thing,” Hen offers.

“He could feel it all before, though,” Maddie whispers, biting her lip before repeating, “god damn it, Buck.”

“God damn it, Buck, indeed,” Bobby can’t help but chuckle, “I’m surprised Chimney didn’t yell at him, especially after Hen had to shove that hip back in.”

“Yeah, he has a lot more restraint than I do,” Maddie growls.

“He feels terrible about it,” Athena sighs, “but trust me, if you need to yell at him I one hundred percent support you, girl.”

When a nurse comes by and kindly lets them know Chimney is out of testing and resting comfortably in his hospital bed, Maddie practically sprints over to his room.

“Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaddie. Crying. Why?”

Yep, definitely loaded up on morphine.

“Heard you were hurt, honey,” she sniffles, scanning over his face to check for bruises before gently bringing her hand to his hair to stroke it, “not everyday that my baby gets pushed down the stairs, hm?”

“S’accident, angel girl.”

“A stupid accident.”

“M’okay.”

“You’re really not, you just think you are because you’re high as a kite right now and can’t feel any of it. Trust me, when I get to take you home you’ll be cursing my brother’s name.”

“Mmmm, Buck.”

“Yes, like that, but with a lot more curse words.”

“Was ouchie, Maddie, really ouchie.”

“I can only imagine,” she sighs, a tear or two leaking from her eyes, “you poor, poor thing. If I could go back and time and protect you from my stupid brother, I would.”

“Don’t cry,” he whines fussily, “too pretty to cry.”

“You are just so sweet,” she hums, booping his nose gently, “and you are going to be absolutely pampered and babied until you’re all better. Until you’re ALL better. I hear you're famously impatient when it comes to letting your injuries heal.”

“Where’d you heart that, angel girl?”

“Only all of your friends,” she snorts, kissing his cheek so softly, as if she’s afraid he’ll scream out in pain if she’s not extremely careful.

“Mmm. Friends. Here?”

“They’re all here,” she nods, “do you want me to go get them?”

“Mmm. Not yet. Sleepy.”

“That’s the medicine, honey. Do you want to sleep? You can sleep, Chimney. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

“Sing?”

“You want me to sing to you?” she coos, thoroughly endeared to the point of being in tears again.

“Pretty girl. Pretty voice.”

“Islands in the stream,” she sings softly, “that is what we are…”

“He doing okay?” a nervous voice asks, popping his head into the room as tentatively as one can.

“You’re lucky he’s sleeping so I have to whisper yell,” she snarls, “Evan Darren Buckley, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Uh… it was an accident?”

“Accident seems like a bit of a stretch considering the sheer amount of stupidity that went into it. Tackling the guy from behind, really? When there was a staircase right by? You sent my baby flying down the stairs!”

“I know, I know. I realize it was stupid now.”

“Yeah, if you hadn’t realized that by now I would have some serious concerns.”

“Maddie, it was dumb, I’m sorry and I feel terrible. I know that’s not really enough considering Chimney is lying there in a hospital bed, but there’s not much else I can say besides that.”

“He was in so much pain,” Maddie cries, finding herself dissolving into sobs for probably the fourth time that day.

“I know, and I’m so sorry,” Buck says desperately, going forward to hug her before thinking better of it and stopping in his tracks halfway there, “believe me, Maddie, you have no idea how terrible I feel.”

“I’m pretty sure he was feeling worse when he was at the bottom of the staircase,” she spits back, and look, she knows she’s not being entirely fair. Buck might not always think things through, but she knows he loves Chimney like a brother and is likely absolutely disgusted with himself for causing him so much pain. It was a stupid accident, but an _accident_ at that. She knows he has to be feeling incredibly guilty, and that her lecturing him isn’t going to fix anything. Still, she’s having a hard time restraining herself.

“I know, Maddie. God, I know. I was there, remember?” he sighs, digging his fingernails into the palm of his hand, “do you want to punch me? Would that make you feel better? I would totally let you punch me right now.”

“No, no I don’t want to punch you, Evan.”

“...Slash the tires of my car?”

“I want him to not be hurt anymore,” she whines pitifully, “but I know you can’t do that, and I know you feel bad so I’m only being a jerk by yelling at you, but I can’t stop.”

“I don’t think you’re being a jerk,” he shrugs, “if I could yell at myself, I would. I love Chim, and I was dumb, and now he’s not going to be able to work for a few months because of me. And _you_ love Chim. Of course you want to yell at me, I get it.”

“It’s just… he’s Chimney, my Chimney.”

“I know,” he nods, “he’s the love of your life and he’s in a hospital bed because of me. Whatever you need to say to me, whatever you need to get off your chest, I can take it.”

A long, tense silence ensues.

“Remember when you were ten and I tripped and you tried to save me from falling over but it just ended up sending me toppling over into mom and dad’s coffee table?”

“...yes?”

“Learn your damn lesson, Evan.”


End file.
